:00:00. > :00:00.rain. A
:00:00. > :00:07.Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight with Annabel Tiffin and
:00:08. > :00:12.Roger Johnson. Our top story: Rania Alayed's husband admits causing the
:00:13. > :00:15.missing mum's death. He says he was possessed by a spirit. We're live
:00:16. > :00:20.outside the court. Also tonight: This man was convicted
:00:21. > :00:23.of terrorist offences three years ago.
:00:24. > :00:32.Now his family could have their home siezed by the courts.
:00:33. > :00:35.After more than ten years of house, have Everton finally found a home
:00:36. > :00:38.away from Goodison Park? The training which leaves them in
:00:39. > :00:41.tears ` a new programme lifts the lid on what it takes to be a Special
:00:42. > :00:55.Constable in Cheshire. A court's heard that a mother of
:00:56. > :00:59.three from Manchester was murdered after attempting to leave her
:01:00. > :01:04.violent and abusive husband. Rania Alayed's body has never been found.
:01:05. > :01:07.Today, a jury at Manchester Crown Court was told that her husband,
:01:08. > :01:12.Ahmed Al`Khatibi from Gorton, has admitted causing her death but says
:01:13. > :01:16.he was "possessed by a spirit". He denies murder. Naomi Cornwell has
:01:17. > :01:22.been following the case. She joins us live from Manchester
:01:23. > :01:26.Crown Court. It is a murder case, even though the victim has never
:01:27. > :01:31.been found. What have the jury been told today about how she died? The
:01:32. > :01:37.prosecution have been opening their case today and they told the jury
:01:38. > :01:40.that Rania Alayed was the victim of years of domestic violence. She was
:01:41. > :01:47.born in Syria and came here with her husband, Ahmed Al`Khatibi. He was
:01:48. > :01:51.violent and abusive. She was becoming too westernised, he
:01:52. > :01:57.thought, and was trying to establish an independent life. She had
:01:58. > :02:12.attempted to contact police and a solicitor and had left her husband.
:02:13. > :02:18.He did kill her in June last year. They tried to conceal her murder by
:02:19. > :02:26.hiding her body many miles away in Yorkshire. The two brothers deny
:02:27. > :02:29.murder and the third denies perverting the course of justice. He
:02:30. > :02:35.denies murder but admits causing her death, how has that been explained?
:02:36. > :02:44.Much of the case centres on what happened inside that flat, inside
:02:45. > :02:48.Millward last year. Inside that flat, he pushed his wife, causing
:02:49. > :02:57.her to stumble and an her head, from which she died. He denies he
:02:58. > :03:02.intended to kill her. He says he was possessed of a spirit that caused
:03:03. > :03:09.him to do it. The court `` the jury he was shown CCTV of Ahmed
:03:10. > :03:16.Al`Khatibi wearing his wife's clothes just minutes after she
:03:17. > :03:31.died, attending to create the impression that she was still alive.
:03:32. > :03:34.Thank you. The family of a convicted terrorist
:03:35. > :03:38.will find out next month whether they'll be kicked out of their home.
:03:39. > :03:42.His family say they have done nothing wrong and should not be made
:03:43. > :03:46.to suffer. Their supporters are holding a public meeting in the city
:03:47. > :03:47.tonight. Here's our Chief Reporter, Dave Guest.
:03:48. > :03:50.This is Munir Farooqi. He's currently serving four life
:03:51. > :03:53.sentences for attempting to recruit and radicalise young men to fight
:03:54. > :03:57.against British forces in Afghanistan. He used this market
:03:58. > :04:00.stall to draw in his recruits. This room at his home in long`sight,
:04:01. > :04:04.Manchester, was stuffed full of terrorist literature. Prosecutors
:04:05. > :04:09.now want the house seized together with two other properties he had
:04:10. > :04:12.connections to. They say the properties were used by Farooqi in
:04:13. > :04:16.his preparations for acts of terrorism. But his family who still
:04:17. > :04:23.live in this one say that's not their fault. If you have not
:04:24. > :04:26.committed a crime, you should not be punished or stop the family members
:04:27. > :04:34.who live here had never been charged with any crime. I was acquitted in
:04:35. > :04:38.the same trial, so it is difficult to understand why we are going
:04:39. > :04:41.through this. Rachel Adamson is a solicitor who specialises in
:04:42. > :04:50.proceeds of crime cases but she says this one is unprecedented. As far as
:04:51. > :04:53.I know, this is a first. It will be a tough job to get it through the
:04:54. > :04:58.courts. On what grounds Gamay challenge this? Certainly, financial
:04:59. > :05:09.loss is important and if the financial loss to the family is
:05:10. > :05:12.going to be so heavy, that will come into it. As far as the prosecution
:05:13. > :05:17.are concerned, they want to put forward the argument that a family
:05:18. > :05:23.home has been used in the commission of a serious offence. Both sides
:05:24. > :05:27.will argue their case in court next month. In the meantime, the family
:05:28. > :05:32.will maintain their campaign against what they see as a grossness
:05:33. > :05:34.justice. `` a gross injustice. They are holding a public meeting
:05:35. > :05:42.tonight. A Merseyside man has pleaded guilty
:05:43. > :05:45.to the murder of his partner and disabled daughter. William Owen beat
:05:46. > :05:48.Sharon Hayter and daughter Stephanie Owen to death at their home in
:05:49. > :05:54.Knowsley Village last year. He'd previously denied the killings. He
:05:55. > :05:57.will be sentenced later this week. The Manchester based Co`operative
:05:58. > :06:00.Group has pledged to improve its own governance in response to a report
:06:01. > :06:04.into management failings at the Co`op Bank. A major review by the
:06:05. > :06:06.former Treasury civil servant, Sir Christopher Kelly, said the bank's
:06:07. > :06:11.merger with the Britannia building society in 2009 should never have
:06:12. > :06:14.happened. Greater Manchester Police are to be
:06:15. > :06:17.investigated following the death of a 68`year`old man who was killed
:06:18. > :06:21.after walking on the M61 motorway near Bolton. Stephen Hayes from
:06:22. > :06:26.Blackpool was found by officers an hour earlier, near to a damaged,
:06:27. > :06:30."undriveable" car. They dropped him off at a nearby service station. The
:06:31. > :06:33.case has been referred to the Independent Police Complaint
:06:34. > :06:36.Commission. Plans for a state`of`the`art breast
:06:37. > :06:40.clinic have been unveiled at Noble's Hospital on the Isle of Man. The
:06:41. > :06:42.?1.5 million extension includes an ultrasound room and dedicated
:06:43. > :06:47.consultancy spaces for breast cancer patients. The charity Manx Breast
:06:48. > :06:58.Cancer Support Group raised funds for the clinic last year.
:06:59. > :07:04.Currently, it is all over the place. Different clinics at different
:07:05. > :07:09.times, there is nowhere private for anyone to go after a diagnosis. I am
:07:10. > :07:12.a cancer patient, there is nowhere for you to go. You go through a busy
:07:13. > :07:20.clinic of people. It is terrible, really.
:07:21. > :07:24.After more than ten years, have Everton finally found a site for a
:07:25. > :07:27.new stadium? The club and Liverpool city council are in discussions
:07:28. > :07:30.about a new 50,000`seat ground in the city. Neither party would
:07:31. > :07:33.confirm the preferred site but it is understood to be less than a mile
:07:34. > :07:36.from Goodison Park. Stuart Pollitt is outside Goodison for us this
:07:37. > :07:43.evening. They have waited a long time for
:07:44. > :07:46.this, haven't they? That is right. They have been house`hunting for
:07:47. > :07:51.more than a decade. In that time, they have checked out sites on the
:07:52. > :07:56.waterfront, they have checked out a site in Kirby. Both of those fell
:07:57. > :08:01.through. Goody answered lie just up the road from Goodison Park? ``
:08:02. > :08:08.could be answer lie just up the road?
:08:09. > :08:14.This is Walton Hall Park, less than a mile from Goodison Park, reported
:08:15. > :08:22.to be the main site under consideration for a new stadium. You
:08:23. > :08:32.not worried about extra traffic? No, we should still get it, even if it's
:08:33. > :08:36.still there. There are all sorts of disruptions. I don't want to wish it
:08:37. > :08:40.on anyone else. We are already in the area. It does cause a problem.
:08:41. > :08:45.Everton have been playing at Goodison Park since the 1892.
:08:46. > :08:51.Although it still holds an emotional pull, its facilities are holding the
:08:52. > :08:54.club back. That is why they had been trying to move for more than a
:08:55. > :09:01.decade, first to Liverpool's waterfront and then outside the
:09:02. > :09:07.city, to Kirby. There is cautious optimism that the latest scheme
:09:08. > :09:10.deliver. A lot of work has gone into potential designs. We need to
:09:11. > :09:14.crystallise that, we need to spend more time working on that as a club
:09:15. > :09:17.and the Board of Directors before we go public. That is because we want
:09:18. > :09:23.to get it right. Everton cannot afford to build a ground on their
:09:24. > :09:27.own, they need funding and they need Liverpool City Council to help. They
:09:28. > :09:31.said they would offer assistance but were not in a position to funding
:09:32. > :09:37.the stadium. Any investment would be part of a wider regeneration scheme.
:09:38. > :09:40.I would personally like to see Goodison Park we develop. That is
:09:41. > :09:45.possibly not feasible so the next best thing is rebuilding Goodison
:09:46. > :09:53.Park in Walton Hall Park. I am asking, as an ever Tony and, ease up
:09:54. > :10:03.on the red tape. `` as an Everton supporter. What are the obstacles
:10:04. > :10:08.here for Everton? Are there any precedents for councils helping
:10:09. > :10:15.clubs out? The obstacle is cost. To build this place in 1892 costs
:10:16. > :10:18.?3000. These days, it costs hundreds of millions of pounds. A range of
:10:19. > :10:27.options are being considered, one of which is a so`called Manchester City
:10:28. > :10:38.model, where the club pays the council a rent. It will be difficult
:10:39. > :10:43.to justify investing public money into a club like this. No decisions
:10:44. > :10:48.have yet been made but Everton will find that finding a site is one
:10:49. > :10:54.thing, funding the site is quite another. Thank you.
:10:55. > :10:59.I am sure people have a view on that story, whether Everton fans or not.
:11:00. > :11:02.A court in Sri Lanka has been hearing the horrific details of the
:11:03. > :11:05.murder of an aid worker from Rochdale and the rape of his Russian
:11:06. > :11:08.girlfriend. Khuram Shaikh was killed at a beach resort in 2011. Today,
:11:09. > :11:17.the prosecution continued its case. Charles Haviland sent us this report
:11:18. > :11:23.from Colombo. Prasanna Samarasinghe said he was
:11:24. > :11:30.awoken by shouting and from his room he saw one of the six accused men
:11:31. > :11:37.beating a white woman, the Russian fiancee of Khuram Shaikh, he said he
:11:38. > :11:43.had noticed them earlier in the day, and remarked how nice they
:11:44. > :11:48.were. They were beating up the Russian woman. She tried to escape
:11:49. > :11:56.into the summing pool. They followed her and carried on beating her as
:11:57. > :12:01.she shouted for help. They all wandered off and Prasanna
:12:02. > :12:07.Samarasinghe wandered towards the restaurant area, where he saw Khuram
:12:08. > :12:17.Shaikh lying in a pool of blood. She ran towards him, crying and
:12:18. > :12:23.screaming. The first accused came back and started beating her again.
:12:24. > :12:27.The witness could not bear to watch it any longer and he went back to
:12:28. > :12:32.his room. The gang raised a riot in the restaurant, overturning tables,
:12:33. > :12:39.breaking lights and smashing plates. The witness, a 42`year`old tourist,
:12:40. > :12:42.Prasanna Samarasinghe, identified the three main assailants as being
:12:43. > :12:49.among the six accused standing in the dock today.
:12:50. > :13:00.Still to come on North West Tonight: The Barrow pensioner asked to pay
:13:01. > :13:06.back a 20`year debt ` for 93p. Wasting that kind of money, for
:13:07. > :13:11.peanuts, just doesn't add up, does it?
:13:12. > :13:14.And bouncing back ` five years ago, a terrible accident threatened to
:13:15. > :13:24.ruin his career, but Luke's a European star.
:13:25. > :13:30.Oliver King was just 12 years old when he died of sudden arrhythmic
:13:31. > :13:36.death syndrome. It is also known as SADS. His father has spent the years
:13:37. > :13:39.since campaigning for defibrillators to be in every school in the
:13:40. > :13:42.country. Today, the Government announced that it wants to help all
:13:43. > :13:47.schools to help the life`saving kit. Mark is to receive a special
:13:48. > :13:52.award from the Prime Minister as well. I am delighted to say he is
:13:53. > :13:56.with us. I am sure the award especially but bittersweet
:13:57. > :14:00.nonetheless. You must be pleased that the Government is getting
:14:01. > :14:03.behind you and getting these deliberate late as into schools,
:14:04. > :14:08.hopefully. It is a massive U`turn from last year, when they didn't
:14:09. > :14:13.want to speed to us and we won't recognise. We were campaigning as
:14:14. > :14:15.hard as we could. They told us to get 100,000 signatures and they
:14:16. > :14:21.would have a debate in Parliament. We ended with 160,000 signatures and
:14:22. > :14:28.they moved the goalposts and put us into Westminster Hall. Tell us about
:14:29. > :14:32.Oliver. He was a fit boy, using a swimming lesson. He was a keen and
:14:33. > :14:42.talented sportsman with an uncle icing zest for life. This macro and
:14:43. > :14:45.un`compromise in zest. He was swimming when he suffered a cardiac
:14:46. > :14:49.arrest and there was not a defibrillator. You believe that if
:14:50. > :14:54.that had been on site, that could have saved his life. He set up the
:14:55. > :15:00.Oliver King Foundation and you have done tremendous work so far. Tell us
:15:01. > :15:05.what you have achieved so far. It was established in February 2012. We
:15:06. > :15:11.have saved three young lives since then without defibrillators. A
:15:12. > :15:21.four`year rod, a seven`year`old and a 14`year`old. You want these in
:15:22. > :15:30.every school, just as fire X10 wishes are in every school. We want
:15:31. > :15:34.the legislation. This announcement today is fantastic, it is a move in
:15:35. > :15:38.the right direction. When the herd it would be announced, the
:15:39. > :15:49.foundation itself, everyone, from the trustees to the trainers were
:15:50. > :15:54.excited. It is busy struck a chord with the Prime Minister. He gets
:15:55. > :16:00.what you are trying to do. It is the devastation that this brings. We
:16:01. > :16:09.lose up to 19 young people a week from this. He has given new a Point
:16:10. > :16:18.Of Light Award `` he has given you a Point Of Light Award. It should not
:16:19. > :16:25.be for me, it should be for the team for the work that has been done.
:16:26. > :16:28.Thank you. Now we all know that local councils are facing tough
:16:29. > :16:31.economic times and have to be very careful with their finances. But one
:16:32. > :16:35.pensioner in Barrow believes his local council has gone a step too
:16:36. > :16:38.far. Mike Gardiner has been ordered to return a benefit over`payment
:16:39. > :16:44.from 21 years ago. The total he was overpaid ` 93 pence. Peter Marshall
:16:45. > :16:48.takes up the story. Mike Gardiner, a retired welder, has worked hard all
:16:49. > :16:54.his life. He was briefly unemployed in 1993 and received council tax
:16:55. > :17:04.benefit. 21 years on ` a surprise in the post. The first we knew, ten
:17:05. > :17:10.sheets of paper arrived. I went to the end of it and it said I owed
:17:11. > :17:16.93p. This was going back to 1993. This is crazy. It was sent out by
:17:17. > :17:19.the company Liberata ` which works with Barrow Borough Council to
:17:20. > :17:32.manage the authorities' benefits service. I could
:17:33. > :17:32.that. It appears that Mr Gardiner is not the
:17:33. > :18:04.for peanuts. It just does not add up does it? Nationally, Liberata
:18:05. > :18:07.collects ?2.2 billion pounds a year in council tax and rates helping
:18:08. > :18:11.local authorities increase tax collections. But in this case it
:18:12. > :18:13.says "An issue has caused a number of erroneous council tax invoices
:18:14. > :19:28.and University International Tennis
:19:29. > :19:33.Tournament. On the final day, Northants resumed their second
:19:34. > :19:52.innings but they were restricted to 179 all out. A trampoline gymnast
:19:53. > :19:55.from Liverpool who nearly lost a leg after a terrible accident says
:19:56. > :19:58.winning a European bronze medal has made it all worthwhile. Luke
:19:59. > :20:01.Strong's medal was the first at that level won by a British man in 32
:20:02. > :20:06.years. The 20`year`old badly broke his leg during a training exercise
:20:07. > :20:09.when he was 15. I went along to meet him earlier today at the gym where
:20:10. > :20:13.he trains in the city. Gymnastics of whatever discipline is a school of
:20:14. > :20:17.hard knocks. Getting back up after a fall is what they do. But few have
:20:18. > :20:21.had a tougher route to the top than Luke Strong. He was just 15 when he
:20:22. > :20:24.broke his leg in a training accident.It was a high energy
:20:25. > :20:28.fracture. Doctors said they had seen kids run over by cars at 40 miles
:20:29. > :20:33.per hour and still not had as bad injuries. But not only did Luke go
:20:34. > :20:36.on to compete ` this is him in the British Championships ` he went on
:20:37. > :20:42.to make history. Complete joy. And happy that all of the hard work paid
:20:43. > :20:48.off. Just take me back to what happened with your leg. You were
:20:49. > :20:52.told the injury was so bad that not only might you lose your career, but
:20:53. > :20:56.you might lose your leg as well. How did you find the strength to return
:20:57. > :21:01.from that? The doctor told me I was 12 minutes away from losing my leg.
:21:02. > :21:04.As close as that? Yes. I was heartbroken at first that I might
:21:05. > :21:10.never be able to do trampolining again. Is that what you were worried
:21:11. > :21:16.most about? At the time, definitely. His British team mates describe him
:21:17. > :21:21.as an inspiration. Amazing. It is outstanding. Especially coming away
:21:22. > :21:30.from the injury he had a few years ago. What's next then? We have a few
:21:31. > :21:34.world Championships, world cups and Europeans coming up. But I would
:21:35. > :21:38.love to make it to the Olympics at Rio in 2016. Do you think you will?
:21:39. > :22:11.I don't know. I'm taking that as a yes! Good luck. You would expect
:22:12. > :22:14.police training to be tough ` but the Cheshire force has come up with
:22:15. > :22:17.a regime which leaves rookie special constables in tears. They'll be
:22:18. > :22:21.asked to try out on themselves the pepper spray which they'll use
:22:22. > :22:23.against suspects on the beat. A new BBC documentary series shows the
:22:24. > :22:26.Cheshire specials being put through their paces, along with trainee fire
:22:27. > :22:30.fighters and paramedics. Andrew Fletcher's been to meet one of them.
:22:31. > :22:33.Preparing for a shift on the front line ` full`time mum and special
:22:34. > :22:36.constable Sarah Johnson. When she signed up to train as a volunteer
:22:37. > :22:40.with Cheshire police, she did not realise it would land her a starring
:22:41. > :22:44.role on daytime TV. We were told at the tactical training centre when we
:22:45. > :22:48.were actually doing the baton and cuffs training that the BBC were
:22:49. > :22:55.going to come and film us. So that was OK, a bit scary initially. But
:22:56. > :22:58.they were great, they were fine. First on the Front Line follows the
:22:59. > :23:05.next generation of emergency service recruits through their training. For
:23:06. > :23:08.Sarah, ten weeks in a classroom taught her the basics of the law,
:23:09. > :23:20.before some painful practical exercises. Sarah has joined almost
:23:21. > :23:41.400 special constables in Cheshire, working unpaid for at least 17 hours
:23:42. > :23:45.a month, often many more. The day was going very well. There was loads
:23:46. > :23:49.of singing and dancing and bands. People are having a very nice time.
:23:50. > :24:02.But all of a sudden, the atmosphere changed. I hope it will prove to be
:24:03. > :24:06.inspirational to people. I bet you're looking forward to watching
:24:07. > :24:33.the programme now? I don't have a television! Everything changes after
:24:34. > :24:38.today. The start of the week very settled, very mild. Tomorrow, what a
:24:39. > :24:41.mess of weather fronts we have. They are falling apart before they get to
:24:42. > :24:45.us, some of them will make their presence very much felt. But on
:24:46. > :24:50.Friday, they get pushed out of the way as an area of high pressure
:24:51. > :24:54.tries test and wish itself. The high keeps of the weather fronts at bay,
:24:55. > :25:04.so the date should be dry and bright, but the nights will be
:25:05. > :25:07.fairly chilly. This is been an picture throughout the day,
:25:08. > :25:12.temperatures 17 and 18, but over last two hours, showers have really
:25:13. > :25:15.started to get their act together. They have been heavy from time to
:25:16. > :25:19.time. They could continue to be heavy as we go to the evening. The
:25:20. > :25:23.picture for tomorrow is entirely different, it is cloudy it is
:25:24. > :25:27.showery and some of the showers will be heavy. So from the onward, this
:25:28. > :25:31.is what the forecast computer wants to do. The showers will die away,
:25:32. > :25:34.the first band at least, but then the next band comes in as we head
:25:35. > :25:39.towards the early hours of the morning. You may not notice the
:25:40. > :25:43.join. Make the most of the last mild night, we are talking about nines
:25:44. > :25:47.and tens for towns and cities. We will not see that again for some
:25:48. > :25:51.time. Tomorrow is all about the showers. They will be around first
:25:52. > :25:55.thing in the morning, cloud base is low and there will be mist. But the
:25:56. > :25:59.showers are never that is for a way, even if you get an hour of dry
:26:00. > :26:05.weather, you risk more coming through. The breeze is stronger than
:26:06. > :26:10.it has been, it is not going in the most favourable direction.
:26:11. > :26:29.Temperatures falling from 17 and 18 to 13 and 14. So it is changing. We
:26:30. > :26:34.would be back at 10:30pm.